When IndyHub asked me to put a no-frills map of downtown Indianapolis on a tee shirt, preparing the design wasn’t too difficult. Google Maps is pretty handy. But thinking about what the design really says, and what I hoped its audience would receive from the shirt, was a longer process.
The area mapped out on the shirt is Mile Square, the central square mile of Downtown Indianapolis. It’s boundaries are North, East, South and West Streets (convenient, right?). This plot of land was first envisioned, labeled and constructed as an urban hub through the eyes of Alexander Ralston in 1821. He imagined the whole city contained within those orderly mile-long borders, with the Governor’s mansion built within a public common area at what we now call Monument Circle.
Welcome to Indiana. Our leader sleeps in the middle of park at the exact center of a capital city so orderly it could be mistaken for graph paper from a distance.
It all sounds very tidy and well-meaning, but it didn’t last long. The very first Governor invited to live at the mansion refused immediately (as if having a public meeting space surround all sides of your house isn’t an amazing perk of the job) and his successors followed suit. By 1831, city maps had already expanded their scope beyond Mile Square to reveal the White River to the west and Pogue’s Run to the east. Today, Indianapolis has officially grown from 1 square mile to 372 square miles, an area that over 800,000 people call home.
While our city quickly outgrew its own intentions and continues to shift its shape almost 200 years later, the initial grid of streets upon which we first built this capital remains largely unaltered. It’s a reminder that plans are beautiful– and plans change. Our humble and idealistic beginnings never really leave us, even if we’ve since put a Dick’s Bodacious BBQ on top of them. A single assignment can change an entire city for centuries to come.
Purchasing this tee supports IndyHub and wearing this tee supports the idea that our city’s history should be celebrated, studied and elaborated on. I hope the design guides you toward a deeper connection with the streets and people around you. I hope it helps you see an amazing city as your own.
[[Editor’s note: shirts are no longer available for pre-order. To purchase your very own CityGrid tee, head to Homespun or Silver in the City! Or contact info@indyhub.org]]
